THE British government has rejected two Sinn Fein requests for meetings in the fortnight since the IRA murders of two RUC officers in Lurgan.
This was made clear in the Commons last night by the Secretary of State, Dr Mo Mowlam, as she rejected unionist suggestions that contacts had continued despite the Prime Minister's cancellation of the meeting between British officials and Sinn Fein originally scheduled for the day after the Lurgan killings.
During the annual renewal of the "Direct Rule" provisions for the North, Mr Ken Maginnis intervened to demand whether there was ongoing negotiation between the British government and Sinn Fein.
"I believe the government should indicate to all of us what is going on between them and the IRA," said Mr Maginnis. "After the murder of two policemen in Lurgan, it was said that contact with Sinn Fein and the IRA would cease, Yet I have reason to believe that contacts have been continued."
Dr Mowlam told him: "The Prime Minister made it absolutely clear that, after the killings in Lurgan, we would not have relationships between our officials and Sinn Fein with relation to the peace process.
"The Prime Minister said there would be no contact. There has been no contact. We have made no approach."
The Northern Secretary then added: "Sinn Fein have phoned twice to the officials that they talked with, asking for further meetings, and were given the answer 'No'."
Opening the 90-minute debate attended by less than 30 MPs Dr Mowlam again warned republicans that talks about a settlement would proceed with or without them.
"If they can't rise to the challenges of democracy they can have no place in shaping the future arrangements for Northern Ireland," she declared.
At the same time, Mr David Trimble and Mr Peter Robinson served notice on the Secretary of State of the problems she will encounter when the Stormont talks resume this morning to consider the British/Irish proposals for removing the decommissioning obstacle, to the start of substantive negotiations.
The UUP leader said it was "absolutely crucial" to his party's attitude "to ensure that if there are going to be substantive negotiations then there must be substantive disarmament in parallel to those negotiations".
And Mr Robinson, deputy leader of the DUP, told Dr Mowlam the "embrace" of the Mitchell Report "is not to say they embrace parallel decommissioning".
He pressed Dr Mowlam: "Is it to be simultaneous, is it to start on the first day of substantive negotiations? " Or would the issue be "subject to a committee with an SDLP and Dublin veto?"